where is the love for GONG?

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ok it wz me, i had the love for gong

you could get camembert electrique for 99p actual real full price for years

mark s (mark s), Saturday, 26 February 2005 01:15 (twenty years ago)

I think they're pretty dreadful. This was one of many prog. bands I followed up on after first being exposed to their music (and sometimes just as importantly, the DJ's reverent patter about them) only to keep wondering where the good stuff was. Maybe there isn't any good stuff (in the sense of stuff I would like) in Gong's case. The phrase "floating anarchy" sounded very cool to me at 13.

RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Saturday, 26 February 2005 01:18 (twenty years ago)

http://www.kt.rim.or.jp/~gong/album/gong004.JPG

i wz totally straight-edge also!

mark s (mark s), Saturday, 26 February 2005 01:19 (twenty years ago)

I was discovering Arabic music during my brief heavy pot-smoking phase.

RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Saturday, 26 February 2005 01:21 (twenty years ago)

(Which came long after I discovered most of this stoner music. That happened in high school, pre-drug use.)

RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Saturday, 26 February 2005 01:22 (twenty years ago)

the flute loop on nas's "oochie wallie" is a gong sample: i hate flute generally but i like didier malherbe's (or liked it)

in fact i think he wz what i liked abt them

mark s (mark s), Saturday, 26 February 2005 01:24 (twenty years ago)

i'm not sure that there wz any sustained good stuff (ie anything as long as a song)

they mutated into a weird tight little jazzrock outfit in the end: i owned gazeuse! for a bit, i'd like to hear it again for old time's sake but i can't imagine being impressed

mark s (mark s), Saturday, 26 February 2005 01:30 (twenty years ago)

how could you not love a band that had album cover art like that?!

geeta (geeta), Saturday, 26 February 2005 01:51 (twenty years ago)

all their covers were badly drawn cartoons!!

mark s (mark s), Saturday, 26 February 2005 01:52 (twenty years ago)

they are flying in a TEAPOT!! how punk rock is that!

geeta (geeta), Saturday, 26 February 2005 01:56 (twenty years ago)

i like the covers better than a lot of the music. i don't know why gong never did it for me. i'll listen to anything.

Hi, Geeta!

scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 26 February 2005 01:57 (twenty years ago)

they were (a bit) punky in a VERY whimsical way (one of the choruses is a mantra that goes "ave a cup of tea - ave a cup of tea"

also "floating anarchy", as RS said

also there wz a brief link-up w.mark perry, via Here and Now (which then links into the Crass mob and crustie culture)

mark s (mark s), Saturday, 26 February 2005 02:00 (twenty years ago)

And Daevid Allen made a CD with Kramer of Bongwater, which I actually own, oddly enough.

RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Saturday, 26 February 2005 02:02 (twenty years ago)

and knew terry riley b4 he wz famous! (in fact gave him his first tape recorder, if i remember the story right)

mark s (mark s), Saturday, 26 February 2005 02:06 (twenty years ago)

I think he made 2 with Kramer. I have one of 'em, too, but haven't really listened to it very carefully.

The only Gong album I think that is far & away excellent is You, though I haven't heard Camembert Electrique. Also like Obsolete by Dashiell Hadeyat (has the Camembert lineup on it) and Gazeuse! though that's the post-Allen, fusion years.

Joe (Joe), Saturday, 26 February 2005 02:13 (twenty years ago)

all u haterz is crazy. the teapot trilogy (especially part 2 - angel's egg) is amazing, so is Magick Brother / Mystic Sister (probably my first choice) - i love gong

roger adultery (roger adultery), Saturday, 26 February 2005 02:14 (twenty years ago)

Scott listen to the Gong collaboration with Acid Mother Temple. It will do it for you!!!!

Kenneth Rung-Sprat, Saturday, 26 February 2005 02:15 (twenty years ago)

I dare someone to start a Jade Warrior thread.

RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Saturday, 26 February 2005 02:18 (twenty years ago)

I love Jade Warrior. All the love for them that you will ever need exists within my person.

scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 26 February 2005 02:19 (twenty years ago)

Yes, Jade Warrior was cool.

Joe (Joe), Saturday, 26 February 2005 02:22 (twenty years ago)

The only one of theirs I ever had was "Gazeuse", but it was that period that I liked when I was younger. I heard some of "You" again a few months ago, and found my memory of it to be just as vivid as it was completely wrong. For some reason, I remember it being a sparse, disjointed album with big, echoey spoken word parts and hardly any rhythms. What the hell happened?

Pangolino again, Saturday, 26 February 2005 02:22 (twenty years ago)

I just did a search for them and laughed when I saw that you were one of the only people to have posted about them. I don't think I like them any more, though it's been a while since I've listened to anything by them, and all I have are bad cassette copies of other people's vinyl. (I do remember that they changed their sound a little on the last recordings I heard from them--a little edgier or something.)

RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Saturday, 26 February 2005 02:23 (twenty years ago)

x-post

RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Saturday, 26 February 2005 02:24 (twenty years ago)

(That was to scott obv.)

RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Saturday, 26 February 2005 02:24 (twenty years ago)

Jade Warrior have that great 3 album split thing going on: the 3 vertigo albums, Jade Warrior-Released-Last Autumn's Dream which are the heavier/tribal/prog/flute epics and then their next three that form a kinda proto-newage ambient stoner trilogy with Floating World-Waves-Kites.

I need a copy of Last Autumn's Dream if anyone has an extra. And I only bought a couple after Kites, but I know there are more. If I see them for a dollar, I will pick them up someday.

scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 26 February 2005 02:33 (twenty years ago)

The only Jade Warrior I've ever heard was the song in the Lee Van Cleef western "Bad Man's River", but I've meant to try listening to them for years.

Pangolino again, Saturday, 26 February 2005 03:23 (twenty years ago)

it's been awhile since i pulled out my copy of camembert electrique but even remembering how it goes in my head, "you can't kill me" is The Shit.

joseph (joseph), Saturday, 26 February 2005 04:14 (twenty years ago)

wait, is mark right about oochie wally???

dave k, Saturday, 26 February 2005 04:15 (twenty years ago)

i'd like to smash your face.

rockaction (rockaction), Saturday, 26 February 2005 10:41 (twenty years ago)

I always wahted to hear Gong's music(k) covered by the fall. "what's that in the sky there-uh/teapots that can fly there-aah"

I like them loads, though there are lots of annoying stupid bits that fuck up yr mood just when you get into what they're playing. I think "Camembert Electrique" is the best one, b/c it actually sounds pretty tough/driving/lean/sparse. Agreed abt "you can't kill me", though "Fohat digs holes in space" is even better.

Pashmina (Pashmina), Saturday, 26 February 2005 10:49 (twenty years ago)

Last Autumn's Dream is the only Jade Warrior lp I own, or have ever heard for that matter. but I do love it!! and i don't want to part with it, sorry scott. Yoo will find one at thrift in doo time, of this I have no doubt. What a weird, schizophrenic record. They really had no frickin' idea what they wanted to be.

Stormy Davis (diamond), Saturday, 26 February 2005 10:50 (twenty years ago)

at *that* point, anyway

Stormy Davis (diamond), Saturday, 26 February 2005 10:51 (twenty years ago)

i am right about oochie wally dk!

it's from "bambooji" on shamal

and one of the deeper elements of their "floating anarchy" wz how they refused to kowtow to the authoritarian concept of the "song" eg they'd do a good bit, then a rubbish bit, then a good bit

i don't think many of their songs are w/o a rubbish bit

mark s (mark s), Saturday, 26 February 2005 11:53 (twenty years ago)

I like them loads, though there are lots of annoying stupid bits that fuck up yr mood just when you get into what they're playing.

Yeah, I agree. Case in point, the last Gong-related thing I listened to was Daevid Allen & The Magick Brothers Live at the Witchwood 1991. They follow-up a really tasty, acoustic version of "Why Do We Treat Ourselves Like We Do?" (strangely, in my head, I always picture Shane MacGowan/The Pogues doing this) with the excruciating "I Am My Own Roadie".

On second thought, that's not true. The last thing I listened to was Mother Gong's Eye, but that was zzzzzzzz.

Joe (Joe), Saturday, 26 February 2005 13:13 (twenty years ago)

Am I the only one amazed by how much that album cover looks like it belongs in "Samurai Jack"?

Daniel_Rf (Daniel_Rf), Saturday, 26 February 2005 18:24 (twenty years ago)

Also C/D, S/D.

I love Gong, listened to them in the 70s in college (slightly embarrassed about all the hippie imagery), forgot about them for years, then re-discovered them about '99, just before they came through L.A. on tour. The hippie stuff I now find kind of charming. Turned out the re-formed band was just as good as the 70s one, and the Zero to Infinity album is pretty good too. You is the definitive Gong album, though, if you don't like this one you don't like Gong.

nickn (nickn), Saturday, 26 February 2005 19:48 (twenty years ago)

They were CRAP

adam.r.l. (nordicskilla), Saturday, 26 February 2005 20:45 (twenty years ago)

back when i was a straight-edge hardcore kid i wld always sneer at gong albs while searching for gregg ginn's gone albs in the virgin megastore - of course the joke is on me cos in fact both groups are functionally THE SAME

the wire conducted an entertaining invisible jukebox w/ allen a cpl of years back, where he talked abt terry riley, his love of thelonious monk, prog, punk, psychedelia, releasing an alb on BYG/Acteul etc. and didn't charles hayward play in an incarnation of gong?

ajl, Sunday, 27 February 2005 12:38 (twenty years ago)

haha gong = gone is totally my fave claim so far: i am so stealin it ajl!!

allen is a charmer, def, and - given the apparent pervasive fluffy dippiness - you have to admire how long he has sustained his RIGOR!!

mark s (mark s), Sunday, 27 February 2005 13:16 (twenty years ago)

two months pass...
"You" is the best one.

charleston charge (chaki), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 22:20 (twenty years ago)

two years pass...

That Flying Teapot album is one of the best jazzy/hippy/acid rock freakout albums that's out there. I love it when they just get into a groove and squonk away for ages. I wish I had seen them live but like lots of other people I turned my nose up at them for decades because of all the hippy stuff.

everything, Wednesday, 4 July 2007 19:39 (eighteen years ago)

Haven't heard that one yet, but I love Camembert Electrique. That's the only one I actually own, but Magick Brother's not bad either.

Colonel Poo, Wednesday, 4 July 2007 19:51 (eighteen years ago)

I think I rate it above even Camembert Electrique and You, which is saying something 'cos those are great albums too.

everything, Wednesday, 4 July 2007 20:15 (eighteen years ago)

My favourite band at age 12/13, finally got to see them in 2001, still nurse a lot of fondness. Camembert the obvious peak, Flying Teapot and Angels Egg deeply adorable, "Blues For Findlay" on the Continental Circus soundtrack the hidden gem. Hillage's incipient megalomania spoilt You, but blow me if the first post-Allen album (Shamal} didn't turn out to be great. It inhabits its own musical micro-universe.

mike t-diva, Wednesday, 4 July 2007 23:05 (eighteen years ago)

i always feel hillage is more all over 'angels' egg than 'you'. they were pretty much my favourite band aged 13 too and i totally agree vis a vis 'blues for findlay'. so great!

stirmonster, Wednesday, 4 July 2007 23:43 (eighteen years ago)

you dudes must've been weird at 13.

GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Thursday, 5 July 2007 09:35 (eighteen years ago)

"Magick Brother" is my fave

Tom D., Thursday, 5 July 2007 09:36 (eighteen years ago)

Gong's one of those bands I've wanted to get something by for a while. I'd always thought it would be a progression from having explored the work of two other fellow ex-Soft Machine members, Robert Wyatt and Kevin Ayers. Of course, Wyatt's and Ayers's work are quite different. And I imagine Gong's similarly unique. All the talk on here of prog rock is likely to make one run away. "One" being me.

J Kaw, Thursday, 5 July 2007 15:31 (eighteen years ago)

just get magick brother and work forward, it'll be quite painless and worth the effort. it's not super-prog.

GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Thursday, 5 July 2007 15:38 (eighteen years ago)

I suppose "Magick Brother" isn't really a Gong album

Tom D., Thursday, 5 July 2007 15:42 (eighteen years ago)

It is!

stirmonster, Wednesday, 23 October 2019 20:25 (five years ago)

I was referring to Nektar.

― nickn

kavus torabi is probably in nektar now too

Spironolactone T. Agnew (rushomancy), Wednesday, 23 October 2019 23:48 (five years ago)

They really need a good documentary, like the Dead one from last year, to just lay it all out on the table for us to see, they're not an ordinary band and had such an unusual trajectory, so many brilliant rabbit holes. I've been looking into the GAS tapes of various kinds and they/he/she were so prolific.

Maresn3st, Thursday, 24 October 2019 21:43 (five years ago)

listened to 'you' for the first time and the sound quality is amazing, doesn't sound like 1974 to me

global tetrahedron, Thursday, 24 October 2019 22:24 (five years ago)

three weeks pass...

Simon Reynolds on Gong in The Guardian. He’s talked to Howlett and Hillage for the piece. Some good stuff in here.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/nov/18/gong-daevid-allen-steve-hillage-prog-rock-psychedelia

mike t-diva, Monday, 18 November 2019 23:22 (five years ago)

four years pass...

soooo.... Tim Blake, what's good??

blazin' squab (NickB), Thursday, 25 January 2024 22:39 (one year ago)

Dunno sorry

BUT I recently happened across this video of a concert where a group cover the whole of camembert electrique almost note for note and dress as them too, and it's all kinds of wonderful

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6_JBMaExOo

This is Dance Anthems, have some respect (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Thursday, 25 January 2024 23:00 (one year ago)

I picked up The New Jerusalem recently and sold it again cos I found the vocals unbearable - and I think of myself as reasonably robust tolerator of Difficult Singing. Maybe I was found wanting here and should have persevered… but life is short.

Feel like I listened to the first one on Spotify around that time and it was (mostly?) instrumental and much easier to get along with.

meat and two vdgg (emsworth), Thursday, 25 January 2024 23:17 (one year ago)

The two new Kavus Torabi led records (one from 2023 and one from 2019) are both really good, they don’t really sound like classic Gong to me (much less wacky) but they are a trip all the same

frogbs, Friday, 26 January 2024 00:00 (one year ago)

i love The New Jerusalem vox n'all. (Lighthouse is all time). Crystal Machine also ace.

He is also behind this one off 7" by Saratoga Space Messengers which is a BIG hit in my house.

stirmonster, Friday, 26 January 2024 01:05 (one year ago)

this one is pretty much vocal free. synth heaven!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sREVq5TPkYA

stirmonster, Friday, 26 January 2024 02:03 (one year ago)

i adore this video where he is rocking the vcs3 and having the time of his life. being in gong in 1973 must have been just about the best job in the world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSvW_O4V8Yo

stirmonster, Friday, 26 January 2024 02:08 (one year ago)

Did the 2 volumes of Gong Dreaming by Daevid Allen get republished. I have the 2nd one which is the one where he forms Gong but never got the first one which is his life up to that point.
I thought I'd heard they were going to come out through another imprint at one point.

Stevo, Friday, 26 January 2024 06:35 (one year ago)

SAF the original publisher folded a few years ago i think.

Stevo, Friday, 26 January 2024 06:37 (one year ago)

thanks for that video stirmonster, that was indeed fantastic

blazin' squab (NickB), Friday, 26 January 2024 08:44 (one year ago)

(i passed on cheap copies of Crystal Machine, New Jerusalem and the self-titled Clearlight Symphony record yesterday, regretting it now! that tune off Crystal Machine that you posted definitely needs sampling btw if no-one's done it already?)

blazin' squab (NickB), Friday, 26 January 2024 08:51 (one year ago)

"forever reoccurring" is a major jam. twenty minutes fly by like nothing

reggie (qualmsley), Friday, 26 January 2024 19:24 (one year ago)

Just thinking about the long interview with Kramer, was it, where he talks about Gong, iirc.

Pictish in the Woods (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 27 January 2024 02:50 (one year ago)

You was my gateway in the 70s, via a shortie in the CREEM back-of-the-book Rock-a-Rama section---not my usual fare, but oh my, lucky i.
BYG has reappeared on Bandcamp, where I finally heard and dug Magick Brother, also Banana Moon, which made several of my ballots---I said this on the main Wyatt thread:

Quite a few BYG albums now reissued and streaming on Bandcamp---I started with Banana Moon, because RW is in the core band with Daevid Allen and Archie Legget, ready for excellent guests. "Stoned Innocent Frankenstein" could be the title track, considering whole set's seemingly off-handed pop-rock flair through the crusty bits*, with attentive dynamics def. incl. Wyatt's drumming and harmonies.
He sings lead on "Memories," which could be a ringer, but fits with other songs' sincerity ("Get Me Outta Here," o yes), and the voice is distant, but persistent, also unmistakable, while the playing is bluesier than his otm "Rock Bottom" B-side arrangement, but sympathetically so. Here's the best audio of the B that I've heard, on Richard Sinclair's Bandcamp:
https://richardsinclairsongs.bandcamp.com/track/memories

And before I forget, here's the 2023 Banana Moon:
https://bygrecords.bandcamp.com/album/banana-moon (Gong's reissued Magick Brother is sounding pretty good on BYG BC too)

*wiki:

In 2003, David Bowie included it in a list of 25 of his favourite albums, "Confessions of a Vinyl Junkie", saying that "it's possible, just possibly maybe, that strands of the embryonic glam style started here."[7]

As for this:

I've never followed Gong very closely, but for me Hillage earned his place in music history for helping Rachid Taha put together Made in Medina. Songlines' reviewer said when he heard it, he glimpsed what Page and Plant were going for w North African musicians. Yeah, seems like this is the realization and then some, to put it mildly. Anyway, more on Made.. should prob be for another thread--what's the deal with New York Gong? The genesis of Material, right? Is the album good?

― dow, Sunday, October 14, 2012 7:11 PM (eleven years ago) bookmarkflaglink

i've grown to really like the new york gong album over the years after completely dismissing it when i first bought it but whether you'll like it or not really depends on whether or not you dig daevid allen's schtick. the laswell hook up came via the notorious jean karakos who moved his celluloid label from france to new york and had gong connections going way back. material probably took the name from the "materialism" track on it and put their first album proper out on celluloid shortly after this came out.

― stirmonster, Sunday, October 14, 2012


I was finally arsed to check out New York Gong on Bandcamp , struck by how well he fit in to the pre-Frith/Sharrock Material, also new to me, and it sounded pretty plausible as well.

dow, Saturday, 27 January 2024 04:11 (one year ago)

There is a compilation of appearances on French tv during the early 70s that I have seen crop up at the end of videos I've seen. Assume its still around though not sure when videos were upped to youtube.

I'm seeing copies of the volumes of the Gong Dreaming book going for massive prices. I did think I had heard about a reprint but not seeing copies cheap and current. Volume 2 was very good anyway.

Stevo, Saturday, 27 January 2024 11:37 (one year ago)

I return to this clip of "I Never Glid Before" loads, Mike Howlett's playing especially is just so absurdly good, my wife likes to point out that Daevid has a little bit of Spin Doctors singer thing going on :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeHN_VmVfRI

MaresNest, Saturday, 27 January 2024 11:53 (one year ago)

seven months pass...

they're embarking on a fairly extensive US tour soon, feel like it's gonna be good, honestly I like these new Gong records more than the old ones

frogbs, Wednesday, 28 August 2024 19:00 (one year ago)

I don't know about "more than", but I recently dipped my toes in with Rejoice! I'm Dead! and the Pulsing Signals live one, liked both way, way more than I expected I would.

Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 28 August 2024 19:04 (one year ago)

kavus torabi works wonders

reggie (qualmsley), Wednesday, 28 August 2024 19:20 (one year ago)

We saw Nu-Gong this year and they were sublime, strong recommend, plus all the Nu-Gong albums are great! They are very much not a tribute act, but something of the spirit persists.

mike t-diva, Wednesday, 28 August 2024 20:52 (one year ago)

Got the impression from Allen's and/or Gong site last year that he approved, maybe picked, all embarking members,though I suppose there might have been personnel changes since he died. No doubt they all have a sense of what has to be lived up to.

dow, Wednesday, 28 August 2024 21:07 (one year ago)

It was Allen's wish, if you seek out any Gong-related interview with Kavus, he explains how it went down.

Maresn3st, Wednesday, 28 August 2024 21:15 (one year ago)

Yeah, Kavus was the anointed successor and most if not all of the current line up played with Allen.

mike t-diva, Wednesday, 28 August 2024 22:09 (one year ago)

one month passes...

saw them yesterday, it was incredible. setlist was entirely new stuff until the end when they played a couple of old songs. the band was super tight but I gotta say the drummer in particular was amazing. judging by the chatter before and after the show I gathered most people didn't know the new lineup or any of the new material but I think they won over everyone by the end. which is cool because I don't think the new stuff sounds too much like old school Gong, it sounds way more like Knifeworld. in fact that's probably why it worked so well, they weren't trying to imitate the band of the past, they were just doing what they were good at.

got to meet Kavus after the show and he was really cool. he mentioned one of his favorite tracks was "Vilna" by Weidorje and suddenly everything made sense - THAT is what they were trying to sound like!

frogbs, Thursday, 3 October 2024 18:30 (one year ago)

I don't think the new stuff sounds too much like old school Gong, it sounds way more like Knifeworld.

I checked out some of the most recent albums and this was my takeaway too. (A good thing imo! Never really been able to get into their earlier stuff.)

Vaguely Threatening CAPTCHAs, Thursday, 3 October 2024 20:24 (one year ago)

they only played two old tunes and come to think of it they're probably the only two that actually fit what this new band does. they also happen to be my two favorite, one of the coolest moments was them doing a long spacey ambient section which gradually morphed into an insane version of Master Builder

frogbs, Thursday, 3 October 2024 20:41 (one year ago)

Holy shit, I would love to see Gong, had no clue they’re touring the Midwest. And “Master Builder” is probably my alltime favorite track of theirs.

Glam conspiracist (Dan Peterson), Thursday, 3 October 2024 23:23 (one year ago)

If they're that different, should they be calling themselves Gong?

dow, Friday, 4 October 2024 02:51 (one year ago)

They do have Daevid's approval, in the "Gong is a spirit, not a bunch of people" sense.

nickn, Friday, 4 October 2024 04:59 (one year ago)

David Allen's final message to the musicians of Gong:

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Daevid Allen’s Farewell Message To GongPublished on April 11, 2015By Paul Sexton
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Daevid Allen, the founder of progressive trailblazers Gong, who died of cancer, aged 77, on 13 March 2015, sent his bandmates a farewell message. The email, which has now come to light, has Allen expressing his support for the group’s current line-up and reviewing his own contribution to their history.

Allen wrote that he was delighted to know, as he prepared for his own passing, that the Gong legacy was in good hands, with current frontman Kavus Torabi, saxophonist Ian East, guitarist Fabio Golfetti, bassist Dave Sturt and drummer Cheb Nettles.

As Prog magazine reports, Allen’s cancer was detected after Gong had played in Brazil early in 2014, while they were finishing the I See You album, released that November by Snapper. The band’s co-founder, aware of his own imminent demise, was in the unusual position to write a final note to the musicians who are carrying on his tradition.

The Canterbury Scene: How Bookish Bohemians Became Prog Monty Pythons
‘Camembert Electrique’: Another Tasty Gong Classic
‘You’: Gong’s Final Transmission From Radio Gnome
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The email reads in full:

Can I just simply say that it is super clear to me that Kavus, you are the perfect fit with Dave, Ian and Fabio and that Cheb, you are the perfect fit with Kavus! I feel you are all equally on the brink of a whole new era of Gong, musically, lyrically and spiritually and that pretty much all you have each done until now has been a preparation for this time.

I want you to know I am 100% behind you with this project and I wish you huge success in every way you decide to measure that success. I am really proud of laying the foundation for the Gong tradition and have done my best to make it as multi layered, wide ranging and open ended as I possibly could so that almost anything was possible as a result.

At last I am free to let go of it so now it is up to you guys to carry it on into new unknown heights and depths far beyond anything I could ever imagine myself. Thank you for being there and going for it and may the rewards be unimaginably powerful for each!

Love and massive soulful hugs

daevid

pisspoor bung probe prog (Tom D.), Friday, 4 October 2024 05:31 (one year ago)

... oops, only meant to post the email.

pisspoor bung probe prog (Tom D.), Friday, 4 October 2024 05:32 (one year ago)

The Canterbury Scene: How Bookish Bohemians Became Prog Monty Pythons

mark s, Friday, 4 October 2024 10:49 (one year ago)

If they're that different, should they be calling themselves Gong?

they also have a bit of history of this. 1971 gong bore almost no musical resemblance to 1975/6 gong.

stirmonster, Friday, 4 October 2024 15:48 (one year ago)

the history they have a bit of that i like is how every few years miquette giraudy is back on-stage with them

mark s, Friday, 4 October 2024 16:32 (one year ago)

also she and hillage have been an item for 50+ years aw

mark s, Friday, 4 October 2024 16:34 (one year ago)

indeed! i have been hoping for a miquette giraudy solo album for around 40 years. still time!

stirmonster, Friday, 4 October 2024 16:57 (one year ago)

She's so undersung, and such deep roots, life-long Pink Floyd fan and I didn't even know she was in La Vallée until recently.

Maresn3st, Friday, 4 October 2024 17:06 (one year ago)

i have a chance to see them both in a venue near here performing as System 7.
quite tempted to be honest.

mark e, Friday, 4 October 2024 17:25 (one year ago)

I know Allen gave them his blessing, but, going by reports here, if they're only doing a few Allen-era songs, and are now greatly enjoyed by some listeners who didn't like Allen-era Gong, I'm inclined to stick to the older stuff, all its phases on all those records. Until I just want to hear something different, of course.

dow, Saturday, 5 October 2024 19:31 (one year ago)

two weeks pass...

Saw them a week ago in a converted church in a tiny town in upstate New York. There were like 100 people there. They were fantastic and not at all offended that so few people were there. It felt like a really special night -- and then when we left the venue the northern lights were pumping in the sky. What a treat.

three of the doctor's valuable bats are now dead (broom air), Tuesday, 22 October 2024 02:04 (eleven months ago)

Awesome, and relatable, in my neck of the woods---I'll go see 'em if feasible, don't get me wrong---but meanwhile, got plenty Gong w Daevid to catch up on---also prowling for him w Soft Machine---not much exists, right? Or maybe he's just on some Canterbury tapes?

dow, Tuesday, 22 October 2024 02:31 (eleven months ago)

I don't know! But keep an eye on the Homer Center for the Arts. Tiny town but they are getting great acts and it is a really special place. Godspeed You Black Emperor was there not long ago for instance. Peace out!

three of the doctor's valuable bats are now dead (broom air), Tuesday, 22 October 2024 02:54 (eleven months ago)

dunno how many people were at the show I was at but it was probably less than 100. which was kinda awesome for us actually, I mean I was right there front and center, I could hear the scraping of the guitar strings

from what I could gather I think a lot of this is just reluctance to see a band with no original members, much less one whose newest members only go back to 2009...I mean, it's not like Yes where you at least have Steve Howe and the guy who played on Open Your Eyes. it's a tough sell. I think that's why they're touring so much, mostly just trying to get the word out, if nothing else they definitely seem to be winning over the old Gong fans

frogbs, Tuesday, 22 October 2024 03:07 (eleven months ago)

I hope these low turnouts don't make them reconsider their plan to tour the western US in 2025.

nickn, Wednesday, 23 October 2024 02:01 (eleven months ago)

two months pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouMF2Dz0Bno

the Ex album is pretty good fun. been on my shelves for years but hadn't ever listened to it until now. daevid allen and his compatriot david tolley dicking around on drum machines and synths in 1983. getting residents vibes if they were slightly less weird (it is still plenty weird though!)

Bernard Quidbins (NickB), Monday, 6 January 2025 21:26 (nine months ago)


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